两篇中外文化对比类阅读的比较

陈光伟

新課标明确指出，所有主题语境都应包含中外文化的范畴，并且新课标将文化意识列为英语学科核心素养之一，以引领学生“在中外文化对比中汲取正确的世界观和价值观”，进而提升“对比、分析、综合、归纳等思维品质”。

在2017-2022年高考英语试题中，我们发现高考语篇的文化意识承载类型丰富、分布比较适当，既涉及英语国家文化、我国的本土文化、人类共有文化，也含有不同民族的文化对比。其中，英语国家文化的语篇占比最高， 其次为我国的本土文化以及人类共有文化的语篇。呈现文化对比的语篇占比不高，在备考中容易忽视，因此也一定程度上值得高三师生的关注。除了高考真题，备考的师生也可关注一些质量较高的各省市的高考模拟题。下文选取了2020年与2022年的广州一模试题中两篇中外文化对比类阅读。

［例1］ 2020广州一模D篇

1. 原题呈现

After 400 years， William Shakespeare （1564-1616） is still widely celebrated as a great crafter of language and playwright （剧作家）. But he was not the only great master of dramatic writing to die in 1616， and he is certainly not the only writer to have left a lasting impact on theatre. While less known worldwide， Tang Xianzu is rightly considered China's greatest playwright and is highly admired in that country of ancient literary and dramatic traditions．

Tang was born in 1550 in Linchuan， Jiangxi Province， and worked as a government official until， in 1598 and aged 49， he retired to focus on writing. Unlike Shakespeare's large body of plays and poems， Tang wrote only four major plays： The Purple Hairpin， A Dream under a Southern Bough， Dream of Handan and The Peony Pavilion--widely considered to be his masterpiece. In the latter three， much of the story is told through dream sequences. Tang used these scenes to explore human emotions in ways that challenged the feudal system of his time. It is a similar dream structure that we find in Shakespeare' A Midsummer Night's Dream．

Tang lived towards the end of the Ming Dynasty （1368-1644） and， similarly to Shakespeare， his lasting success was partly due to the growth of theatre as an artistic practice during his lifetime. As in Shakespeare's England， it became hugely popular in China， with public theatres opening in different cities and traveling performance groups becoming common. Theatrical audiences started to populate open public spaces， and theatre as a popular form of entertainment found its place outside palaces. However， unlike in Shakespeare's England， there was hardly any mixing of the rich with commoners at theatrical events．

During this time， the way in which play-texts were enjoyed， spread and performed also changed. Initially， Chinese dramas had an emphasis on poetic language and were distributed in book form， to be read like novels. They were seldom， if ever， performed. However， from the mid-16th century， kunqu opera， a form of musical drama， spread from southern China to become a symbol of Chinese culture．

While Tang and Shakespeare lived a world away from each other， they share in common the humanity of their drama， their heroic figures， their love for language， a lasting popularity — and the anniversary during which we still celebrate them．

32. Why does the writer refer to Shakespeare throughout this article about Tang？

A. To compare the writing styles of the writers．

B. To emphasize Tang's importance in literature．

C. To assess the achievements of these two great writers．

D. To examine the different influences of Tang and Shakespeare．

33. What distinguishes The Purple Hairpin from Tang's other plays？

A. It does not rely heavily on dream scenes．

B. It is widely considered to be his best work．

C. It was the only play to be publicly performed．

D. It challenged the feudal system of ancient China．

34. What characteristic was shared by both English and Chinese theatre during Tang's lifetime？

A. Music and poetry were present in most performances．

B. The popularity of public theatrical performances grew rapidly．

C. Different social classes often attended the same performances．

D. Most plays were written to be read as novels rather than performed．

35. Which of the following would the author probably agree with？

A. Tang's plays were superior to his poems．

B. Tang is more widely read than Shakespeare．

C. Tang is the best playwright in Chinese history．

D. Tang and Shakespeare knew of each other's works．

2. 分析

2020年廣州一模D篇内容为介绍我国剧作者汤显祖，答案为BABC。其中涉及文化对比的题目为第32题与第34题。

第32题考查写作手法及其目的。作者虽然通篇都有提到莎士比亚，其目的并非要对比两大文豪异同，而是用西方读者熟悉的莎士比亚引出相对不为他们熟悉的中国剧作家。从第一段第二句“But he was not the only great master of dramatic writing to die in 1616， and he is certainly not the only writer to have left a lasting impact on theatre.”可知这篇文章中莎翁并非主角，主角是后一句“While less known worldwide， Tang Xianzu is rightly considered China's greatest playwright and is highly admired in that country of ancient literary and dramatic traditions.” 中的汤显祖，这种从熟悉到不熟悉的思路目的是为了凸显出汤显祖的跟莎翁同等的文学地位。而错选的人都没有看出”莎翁”在本文中的衬托作用，以及作者介绍汤显祖的写作意图。

第34题考查细节理解能力，特别是多细节信息综合对比能力，从第三段第二句“As in Shakespeare's England， it became hugely popular in China， with public theatres opening in different cities and traveling performance groups becoming common.”可知汤显祖时期也就是莎士比亚时期，戏剧在中英两国同时流行起来。而本题的干扰点是第三段最后一句“However， unlike in Shakespeare's England， there was hardly any mixing of the rich with commoners at theatrical events.”这句本来是讲两国戏剧的不同，但错选的考生没看到unlike的否定。在两个细节信息的夹击之下思维混乱了。

［例2］ 2022廣州一模C篇

1. 原题呈现

Discoveries at the famous Sanxingdui ruins in Southwest China show that the region's ancient Shu Kingdom civilization shared similarities with the Maya．

The Sanxingdui ruins belonged to the Shu Kingdom that existed at least 4，800 years ago and lasted more than 2，000 years， while the Mayan civilization built its city-states around 200 AD．

The bronze-made remains of trees unearthed at the ruins of the Shu Kingdom resemble the sacred ceiba tree， which symbolized the union of heaven， earth and the underworld in the Mayan civilization. “They are very important similarities，”says Santos， a Mexican archaeologist （考古学家）， stressing that “the representations of trees in both cultures provide a symbolism that is very similar”．

The findings at the Sanxingdui ruins， considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century， also show a new aspect of Bronze Age culture， indicating the ancient civilization already had technologies that were thought to have been developed much later．

While the time span between the Shu Kingdom and the Mayan culture is great， the findings highlight the closeness between the two civilizations. They developed in areas with comparable climates and reflected their worldview through related symbols. “In the end， man is still man， independent of time and space. What we have is that， at this latitude （纬度）， both the Shu people and the Mayans looked at the same sky and had the same stars on the horizon，”the expert says．

One notable feature of the recent discoveries at Sanxingdui was the cross-subject work and technology applied by teams of Chinese archaeologists， which allowed the unearthing of artifacts as fragile as silk remains， which other types of less careful digging methods would not have been able to register．

Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Mayan World， where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of ruins．

“Every time our cultural knowledge increases， regardless of whether we speak one language or another， what it shows us is that we continue to be sister cultures and， therefore， the exchange of such knowledge is fundamental，” says Santos．

28. What is a similarity between the Shu Kingdom and Mayan civilizations？

A. Their starting time．

B. Their historical origins．

C. Their cultural symbols．

D. Their ceremony traditions．

29. The findings at the Sanxingdui ruins have proved that ______

A. silk was a common clothing material then

B. some technologies were developed much earlier

C. the Bronze Age started earlier than previously assumed

D. the Shu Kingdom and the Mayan world had close contact

30. What is a common challenge for the conservation of both ruins？

A. Damp weather．

B. Positioning of ruins．

C. High latitude．

D. Language barriers．

31. What is the focus of Santos' quote in the last paragraph？

A. The future of the China-Mexico cooperation．

B. The benefits of speaking a different language．

C. The importance of the exchange of cultural knowledge．

D. The increasing sisterhood in culture between China and Mexico．

2. 分析

2022年廣州一模C篇内容为我国三星堆文化和墨西哥玛雅文化的对比，答案为CBAC。其中涉及文化对比的题目为第28题与第30题。

第28题问及古蜀国与玛雅文明的相似性，考查学生理解细节信息的能力。答案源自第三段对蜀文明和玛雅文明所使用的象征物品之间相似性的介绍：蜀国遗址出土的青铜树残骸类似于（resemble）玛雅文明中的圣树木棉树，引文“They are very important similarities，” says Santos， a Mexican archaeologist stressing that “the representations of trees in both cultures provide a symbolism that is very similar”为答题的直接线索。选项A中的“文明的起始时间”与本文事实相悖；而选项B、D所述内容文中未提及。

第30题问及两处遗址的保护工作中面临的共同挑战是什么，考查学生综合理解细节信息并作出简单推断的能力。第七段“Cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists could benefit projects in the Mayan world， where the rainy climate and humidity are problematic for the conservation of ruins. ”一句讲到：玛雅遗址所在地多雨潮湿，是遗址保护的难题。此外，根据文章第五段“They developed in areas with comparable climates…”的表述，两地气候有可比性，可以推断出这个难题在三星堆也应该存在。综合判断，两地在保护文明遗址方面都有的挑战是所在地气候潮湿的问题，答案为A。其它选项与文章内容相悖。

小结

从上面两个例子，我们可以发现，这两篇文化对比类的文章选材紧跟地方特色或时事：2016年为纪念两位大师逝世400周年，广州举办了“汤显祖·莎士比亚广州戏剧文化年”活动，而2021年是中国考古学诞生100周年。

其次，语篇题目设空多为细节理解类，解题难度不算太大。

我们也发现，除了做题，文化对比类语篇更重视培育学生的文化认同与传播、感悟与鉴别各类文化的意识与能力。2022年C篇比2020年D篇更强调中国的硬实力，如文章后半部分提到的中国先进的考古技术惠及他国，这充分体现了国家在世界上不断增强的影响力、话语权，引导学生增强文化自信。

因此，备考的过程中师生应时刻保持文化自觉，充分挖掘教材中的中华文化元素，并以此为切入点，适当拓展同一主题语境下的中华文化元素，培养以中华文化为骄傲的文化自信。同时，可以通过对比中外文化，如对比中外诗歌文化在表达方式和创作思路上的异同、中外餐桌礼仪和节日习俗差异等，进一步加深对中华文化的理解和认同，形成文化多元化意识。

【本文系广东实验中学“十四五”教育研究课题“案例教学法在新人教版高中英语文化教学中的应用研究”（立项编号：GDSYZX2021-gj02）研究成果】

责任编辑吴昊雷